


Music Night

by NightMereBear



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24529780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightMereBear/pseuds/NightMereBear
Summary: To say that Felix Fraldarius was excited about music night would be like saying that Felix Fraldarius was excited to have his ears sewn shut with a rusted needle.  It wasn’t the music itself he was wary of—on the contrary, music was one of the few things he held in particular esteem. It was simply the thought of having to engage at length with the Golden Deer Privateers. They hadn’t been sailing together for long, but solitude was hard to come by on a ship and Felix would have killed for some tonight. If it hadn’t been for Annette and her large blue eyes, he doubtless would have skipped the thing entirely. But the woman was drawn to music like moths were drawn to open flames, and Felix would be damned before he let her burn herself on Claude von Riegan and his motley crew.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 8
Kudos: 37





	Music Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! SO this is a snapshot of a much (MUCH) larger pirate AU that is in the works. Essentially the Blue Lions are shipwrecked and separated while on a mission to secure aid in the war, and Felix and Annette get picked up by the Golden Deer Privateers. Now the two have to convince Claude and his crew to assist them in reaching their original destination. Chaos, swashbuckling, monsters, and magic ensue but THIS is just a small snapshot of that. Mostly it was my birthday yesterday and I wanted to write about pirates on my birthday. 
> 
> This bit takes place relatively early on in the story.

To say that Felix Fraldarius was excited about music night would be to say that Felix Fraldarius was excited to have his ears sewn shut with a rusted needle. It wasn’t the music itself he was wary of—on the contrary, music was one of the few things he held in high esteem. It was simply the thought of having to engage at length with the Golden Deer Privateers. They hadn’t been sailing together for long, but solitude was hard to come by on a ship and Felix would have killed for some tonight. If it hadn’t been for Annette and her large blue eyes, he doubtless would have skipped the thing entirely. But the woman was drawn to music like moths were drawn to open flames, and Felix would be damned before he let her burn herself on Claude von Riegan and his motley crew. So here he was, scowling atop a wine barrel and watching pirates sway to shanties that ranged from pleasant to painful. Apparently, one did not need a practiced ear to partake in music night.

Annette was clapping enthusiastically from her spot beside him, a giggle escaping her lips as she watched Claude pull a protesting Lysithea from her spot by the railing. The young mage did her best to wriggle out of his grasp, but as the captain led her in a rhythmic step around the deck, her frown became a smile and she was soon laughing with the rest of them.

Felix watched through partially raised brows as a swaying Leonie slammed her cup onto the starboard rail, her bleary eyes landing on Ignatz. The young man seemed quite content to sit and quietly sketch the chaos around him, the chaos he would shortly be joining if Leonie’s expression was any indication.

“Don’t think you’re sitting this one out!” the huntress declared, reaching down and grabbing a hold of his arm. Ignatz yelped, barely having time to set his sketchpad aside before he was dragged upright, Leonie whirling him about with an abandon that nearly sent them both overboard. A few feet away, Raphael was demonstrating moves that no one could call graceful, while Lorenz seemed to be doing his best to outperform the big sailor, his moves elegant if not a shade pompous.

“That is just embarrassing.”

Felix glanced up at Hilda’s voice, the first mate having planted one hand on her hip while the other curled around a cup of wine. She took a long, slow sip of the drink before releasing a dramatically beleaguered sigh and holding the cup out to Felix. “I guess it falls to me to show them how it's done,” she said woefully, as though this was some great task set upon her shoulders by Seiros herself.

It took the swordsman several seconds and a pointed _“heh-hem”_ from Hilda to register that he was supposed to be taking the cup. He did so, albeit hesitatingly.

“Sorry,” he muttered, then instantly felt stupid for apologizing.

Hilda gave him a smile that was nothing short of poisonous and raised a manicured finger to his nose.

“Not a sip, Fraldarius. Not. A. Sip.”

Then, with a pointed swish of her hips, she sashayed off to join her crewmates. Felix was left awkwardly holding the cup, wondering just how long he was supposed to play the part of her makeshift shelf. Still, he knew better than to set it down. Hilda Goneril might resemble a delicate flower, but she had a reputation for a reason. Felix knew the woman could be downright terrifying when she wanted to be. To incur her wrath would be to walk his own plank and Felix had no intention of swimming with the sharks. 

“U-um, I can take that. If you would like.”

The swordsman almost dropped the cup.

Marianne von Edmund had approached like a whisper, and Felix felt words tumbling from his mouth before he could stop them.

“Don’t _do_ that!” he hissed, wincing as a spray of wine splashed over the side of the cup and plummeted to the planks below. A quick glance told him that Hilda hadn’t noticed.

Marianne flushed, looking as though she might bolt if Felix breathed too loudly. “A-apologies. I didn’t mean to scare you,” she murmured. The swordsman opened his mouth, but it was Annette who answered for him.

“Don’t apologize, Marianne. Felix isn’t actually as grumpy as he seems,” she told her. “He was probably just embarrassed that you caught him off guard.”

“Shut up, I was not,” Felix grumbled, whipping around to glare at her. Annette beamed at him. Marianne, meanwhile, didn’t seem sure what to do with this information and therefore ignored it completely.

“Um, about the cup,” she redirected, nodding to the wine in Felix’s hand. “Hilda can have a bit of a one-track mind sometimes. You can give that to me if you want. I’ll make sure it doesn’t spill.”

“O-oh. Sure. Uh, thanks,” Felix stammered, handing over the beverage. It had barely passed into Marianne’s fingers before she was mumbling her gratitude and scampering away.

“I think she’s getting more comfortable with us,” Annette observed, tilting forward in a way that had Felix reaching out to steady her. She seemed not to notice. “I think that’s the first time she’s actually initiated a conversation with us!”

“Mmm-hmm,” Felix muttered distractedly, only lowering his hand once he’d deemed that Annette wasn’t about to topple off the barrel. His eyes followed Marianne as she sat beside the fiddler, Hilda’s cup cradled in her hands. The woman was about the farthest thing from ‘pirate’ that Felix could have imagined. Then again, he supposed none of the Golden Deer quite resembled the blood-thirsty rogues he’d envisioned as a child. He still didn’t entirely trust them, but they weren’t exactly what he would call villainous either.

“…lix? Felix?”

Felix blinked as Annette’s voice drew him from the fog of his thoughts. He turned to her, an eyebrow raised inquiringly.

“Yes?”

Annette glanced away as soon as his eyes met hers, seemingly fascinated with the way her fingers had twisted around each other. 

“Um…” she began.

Felix frowned, her hesitation catching him off guard. “Is…everything alright?” he asked, glancing around for the cause of her sudden distress. Yet the pirates were dancing as they always had, the music as jubilant as ever.

“O-oh! Everything’s fine!” Annette responded, waving her hand rapidly in front of her face, as though this could hide the flush that had spread across her cheeks. Felix’s frown deepened. Perhaps she had drunk more than he’d thought?

Annette pressed on. “I just… I was wondering if… Do you want to dance? With me?”

Felix balked. He didn’t dance. She knew he didn’t dance. He could barely walk in a straight line on this blasted ship must less attempt something like _that!_ His stomach had only just begun to stop pitching at every dip and sway of the waves—not to mention that today was the first day Leonie had gone without mentioning his abhorrent lack of sea legs.

“Are you out of your mind?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back.

Annette’s whole body stiffened, hurt flashing through her eyes as she glared at him.

“I guess I must be,” she snapped, “to have thought that Felix Fraldarius could set aside his stupid ego for five minutes!”

“Annette—” he began, but she swiveled in place, turning her back on him and folding her arms across her chest.

Felix scowled. “I didn’t mean it like that. Can you at least hear me out before you get all…huffy?!”

“And now I’m huffy?!” Annette retorted, her eyes blistering.

“I mean, are you listening to yourself?” Felix returned, frustration outweighing his good judgment. 

Annette positively glowered at him. “You’re a villain Felix,” she hissed. “An absolute _villain!”_

A shadow fell across them before Felix could reply, and he glanced up to see the captain himself standing over them. Claude’s clever green eyes flicked from Felix’s slouched shoulders to Annette’s crossed arms, his lips quirking in a way that Felix did not like at all.

“Can I help you?” the swordsman grumbled, not caring that his tone was nothing short of churlish. Claude actually snorted and Felix bristled like a cat being stroked the wrong way.

“You? No,” the captain responded. He promptly turned to Annette, extended his hand, and winked. “I came to ask the lady for a dance.”

Felix gaped, feeling as though something large and slimy had just settled in his gut. Annette squeaked and the cheshire grin on Claude’s face widened. Delicately he reached forward, taking her hand in his and pulling her gently upright.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, all sultry confidence.

Felix snapped his mouth shut—not sure when it had fallen open—and positively glowered at the other man. If he had thought himself annoyed before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now, particularly as Annette spared him no second glance as she followed the captain onto the deck.

“Have fun seething!” Claude called over his shoulder, waggling his fingers in a way that Felix found particularly irksome.

“I am _not_ seething,” he grumbled. “She can do whatever she wants. I don’t care.”

“Oh, just keep telling yourself that.”

Felix almost toppled off the barrel, having been so focused on Claude and Annette that he hadn’t even heard Hilda approach. The first mate gave him a sympathetic look, an expression that did _nothing_ to qualm his smarting pride. She held out a second cup of wine.

“It’s okay,” she told him, a knowing glint in her eye. “You’re allowed to drink this one.”

Felix only hesitated a moment before snatching the cup and downing it in one go.

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-dah! My pirate birthday gift to myself xD I hope you guys enjoyed that little snapshot! I am really looking forward to writing this story in its entirety! Thanks for reading this little bit :D :D 
> 
> [ I have a twitter! ](https://twitter.com/NightMereBear) Go ahead and follow me for art and writing fun if that's your thing! :D


End file.
